EAGLES ace Darius Defoe surveyed the scene of an historic Newcastle victory and insisted: “That was the biggest win of my career.”

The Londoner – discovered by Everton coach Tony Garbelotto as a teenager – is no stranger to success following a silverware-laden career with the Eagles.

Defoe emerged from a bruising BBL Trophy semi-final second-leg encounter against the Tigers bursting with pride after Newcastle sent out a message of intent to their BBL rivals with an 88-77 victory on he night – and a 176-159 success on aggregate.

He said: “I have won a few medals with this franchise, but I cannot remember a bigger win during my time on Tyneside.

“It was such an important win for me and for the club.

“We beat one of the best teams in the BBL – and the team which dumped us out of the Cup before Christmas.

“We also did it without Lynard Stewart or Charles Smith, which was a huge achievement.

“To me that was the most important thing to come out of the tie.”

The Eagles will now contest the final in Guildford against the homecourt Heat next month – the fifth season running they have made the tournament decider.

That, in itself, is a record for player-coach Fabulous Flournoy to be proud of, and proves his players are still without equal when it comes to enduring class.

Those critics quick to sound the death knell for the New Yorker’s Newcastle dynasty could be left with egg on their faces on the evidence of this compelling triumph.

Defoe added: “You never know what will happen in the final but I know one thing for sure – we will be up for it.

“Who knows how the Heat will play? All I can promise is we will be ready when the time comes.”

Newcastle went into the franchise’s biggest fixture of the season to date with a glowing reference from old boy Olu Babalola ringing in their ears.

The former Eagle raised eyebrows back home on Merseyside when he claimed his ex-employers were the better team heading into last night’s second leg.

Babalola’s judgement seemed spot on as Newcastle stormed into a six-point first period lead – extending their aggregate advantage to 12.